Monday, February 4, 2013

Omega by Susannah Sandlin

The bloody war between the Vampire Tribunal and the defiant scathe of Penton, Alabama, rages on, forcing its residents and their bonded humans to retreat into the underground fortress of last resort: Omega. There, Will Ludlam is charged with the care of Penton’s humans, though he longs to fight alongside his vampire brethren. He knows the risks: as the renegade son of the Tribunal’s vicious leader, Will’s capture could doom the resistance. Yet he is determined to prove his worth to his adopted scathe, to his vengeful father—and to former US Army officer Randa Thomas, his beautiful, reluctant partner. Randa has little faith that a former member of the vampire elite has what it takes to fight a war. But as their enemies descend upon Omega, Will’s polished charm—and Randa’s guarded heart—finally give way to the warrior within. Fans of Susannah Sandlin’s Penton Legacy are sure to devour this long-awaited third installment of the steamy paranormal series.

My Thoughts:

The war has begun... Life in Penton will never be the same. Heck, Penton will never be the same.

Welcome to Omega. The underground bunker is now home to what is left with the vampire scathe and their humans. Many Pentonites were killed during Matthias initial attack on the community, but more still decide to leave after they are now forced to go underground. With so few humans left, vampires are now being asked to leave. While Aidan and his lieutenants are desperately trying to find a way to survive, Matthias is sitting in wait knowing that the scathe can survive underground for so long.

We finally learn more about Will, Randa, and just how much of a bastard Matthias really is. What surprised me the most was the similarities between Will and Randa. While reading Absolution, we get a glimmer on how potent their relationship will be. However, it isn't until the beginning of Omega that we find out how much alike the two of them are. How are they similar? Both have hard-nosed fathers that they want nothing more than to please them. Matthias viewed Will as a massive failure from the first grade. It is because of that, Will was never able to live up to Matthias' expectations. Matthias went so far as to send Will of to his right hand man and Will had unspeakable horrors done to him. One the other side, we have Randa. Her father wasn't a bad father like Matthias was. Instead, she had brothers that she couldn't live up to. In order to prove herself, Randa had to join the military and was eventually turned into a vampire. I'd have to say that the best part of their relationship was when they finally let their guards down long enough to realize how similar their backgrounds were. They both misjudged each other and were able to look at one another in a new perspective.

From the beginning of Redemption, it is fairly obvious that Matthias is a bastard. He's an ass. There is no way to sugarcoat that. First he sends Owen to Penton to kill his brother in Redemption. Then in Absolution, he starves Mirren and throws an abused Glory at him in hope that Mirren will kill her. The biggest jaw-dropping moment came at the end of Absolution when he destroys downtown Penton and kills many Pentonites. In Omega, we learn more about how he turned his family into vampires without regard to their health. Kudos to Susannah for creating such a horrible character.

There are no words to how much I enjoyed Omega. The obvious reason is because we finally get the final showdown between Penton and Matthias. I had a strange reaction to the way it ended, though. Omega didn't end the way I was hoping it would. Instead, it ended the way it had to end for the future of Penton and the vamps we've come to love. If it had ended the way I wanted it to end, then nothing good would have come from the whole battle. As readers, we all come across endings that we didn't like or wish we could change. While I wanted it to end differently, I still loved the ending and would not change a word. Did that make sense?

Like the previous books, Omega was well-written and will suck you in from the first page. Things are not well in Omega, so don't except smiles and laughs. Susannah really shows the reader how bad things have become for the scathe. The progression from Absolution is smooth and you'll feel like you moved with everyone into the bunker. You'll feel the characters ups and downs as they face a scary future. I loved how raw Omega was. It was the perfect end to a fantastic series.

Thanks to Susannah Sandlin for allowing me to read Omega as an ARC for a review. Please come back tomorrow for my very first author interview with Susannah as we chat about her characters, the Penton Legacy, and which of her three vampires would she bond with. Then on Wednesday, I will have a complete series review of The Penton Legacy.